Announcing TeachNC: The One-Stop Resource for Becoming a Teacher in North Carolina We are thrilled to share that, for the first time ever, North Carolina has a unified, statewide teacher recruitment initiative that elevates the teaching profession and seeks to fill critical vacancies! At the August 14th meeting of the North Carolina Education Cabinet, education leaders and stakeholders gathered to celebrate the launch of TeachNC. Aligning with BEST NC’s longstanding commitment to improving the educator pipeline, we have collaborated with the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction and TEACH.org to create this statewide teacher recruitment initiative. TeachNC employs both a broad media campaign and a robust web platform to support teacher candidates in their quest to become a teacher in North Carolina. Members of the NC Education Cabinet stand in support of TeachNC. Why TeachNC? Every student deserves a quality education — that’s a given. What you might not know is that teacher quality is the #1 in-school factor for guaranteeing students’ long-term success. Since educators play a crucial role in the lives of our students, TeachNC is designed to inspire teaching candidates to pursue the career and remove barriers that stand in their way. The Audience The TeachNC initiative seeks to provide accurate and compelling information about the teaching profession that will be useful to both potential candidates and the general public. TeachNC targets students who are just beginning to think about their career options all the way to mid-career professionals who may be considering a career change. The Campaign TeachNC’s media campaign, “Teachers Have Better Work Stories,” highlights the ways in which teaching profession is challenging, fulfilling, and constantly evolving. These career qualities are particularly appealing to Millennials and Generation Z as they seek fulfilling professions. TeachNC’s first public service announcement can be viewed below. TeachNC will also be curating Better Work Stories from real North Carolina teachers. To view the stories collected so far, click here. If you are a teacher or know of one who should share their Better Work Story, please share it here. The Website TeachNC.org is an interactive digital recruitment platform that centralizes all of the information and resources needed to become a teacher: Licensure Understanding licensure is the first step to becoming a teacher. TeachNC outlines licensure requirements and pathways for all candidates, from beginning college students to mid-career professionals. Programs To help candidates choose an educator preparation program (EPP) that will qualify them for licensure, TeachNC provides a database of North Carolina’s EPPs, criteria to help candidates compare options, and advisors to provide 1-on-1 support. Affordability To help candidates understand affordability, TeachNC provides a finance guide with best practices, local and national scholarship listings, and cost-saving strategies. TeachNC also offsets candidates application costs through a $100 reimbursement scholarship. Applications Understanding licensure is the first step to becoming a teacher. TeachNC outlines licensure requirements and pathways for all candidates, from beginning college students to mid-career professionals. More to Come, and What YOU Can Do: Over the next months and years, TeachNC will continue to expand its resources with district landing pages and updated information as licensure requirements change. In the meantime, here is what you can do to help: If you know someone who is thinking about becoming a teacher, please share www.TeachNC.org and encourage them to register to get (free) resources. If you are a teacher and want to share your Better Work Story, take just a minute to film with your phone and upload it here. If you have any ideas or questions, reach out to the TeachNC Director, Princess Brown at Princess@TeachNC.org. TeachNC Partners TeachNC Funders
K-12 Education Finance in North Carolina
Note: This blog post features a brief from page 42 of our 2018 Facts & Figures publication, contextualizing North Carolina education data with a short description of an historical feature or a critical issue in North Carolina. Read more at www.NCEdFacts.org. In North Carolina and nationwide, public education is financed through federal, state, and local expenditures. Nearly two-thirds of total K-12 public education funding in North Carolina comes from the state through position, dollar and category allotments (such as allotments for teachers, principals, teacher assistants, textbooks, classroom materials, and transportation). Districts received additional funding from the state based on student learning needs (such as for children with disabilities, English language learners, and economically disadvantaged students). The state also provides supplemental funding to low-wealth counties (68 across the state) and small counties (27). Combining state funding allotments, a first grade student with no special learning needs would receive $5,861 in state funding; an economically disadvantaged first grade student with limited English proficiency and special learning needs in a small, low-wealth county would receive $17,279 in state education funding. Roughly 11% of K-12 public education funding in North Carolina comes from the Federal government. Federal funds mainly support child nutrition, students with disabilities, and students from low-income households. Source: NC DPI 2017 Highlights of the Public School Budget K-12 Education Finance In addition to state and federal funds, local North Carolina counties provide additional funding to supplement state support for K-12 school operations; and provide funds to build, furnish, and maintain K-12 school buildings. Local dollars fund nearly 28,000 positions in K-12 public schools, including 7,315 service workers, 6,313 teachers, 1,937 teacher assistants, and 756 assistant principals across the state. Local funds for school operations range from $849 per pupil in Robeson County to $6,151 in Chapel-Hill/Carrboro City Schools. Source: NC DPI Annual Expenditure Report by LEA